IAB Expands Membership to Include Brand Leaders for Their Critical Perspective as the Digital Marketing Landscape Continues to Disrupt and Grow

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IAB,
the national trade association for the digital media and marketing
industries, today announced that it is expanding its membership to
include brand leaders in order for the organization to add critical
perspective and insight as IAB works to drive industry growth. By adding
brand executives to their membership, IAB will now represent the full
spectrum of companies from across the digital media and marketing
landscape.

“Brand leaders will now join executives from publishers, platforms, data
and technology companies who serve on our Board of Directors,” said
Randall Rothenberg, CEO, IAB. “I am excited to welcome this key group of
innovators who are redefining how brands engage with their customers to
join our efforts to grow the interactive media and marketing industry.
We look forward to working and learning together inside the IAB.”

This decision to include brands follows a year of efforts engaging with
brands culminating in an IAB study on how direct-to-consumer brands are
changing the way that companies connect with consumers. During this
process, it became clear to IAB leadership that brand leaders represent
an important voice which is needed at the table when considering
industry priorities and planning strategically for the future.

As consumers move increasingly towards social driven, omnichannel media
consumption and mobile e-commerce, brands either are now firmly
ensconced in the digital media and marketing ecosystem or need to be. To
reach their customers, marketers must strategically navigate digital
media and social media platforms, e-commerce as well as unlock the full
potential of their consumer data. Successful brands are using strategies
such as bringing programmatic advertising in-house, deploying innovative
marketing technologies, and ensuring that their staffs are trained in
the most up-to-date digital marketing approaches.

Jesse Horwitz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the direct-to-consumer contact
lens company Hubble, will be the first brand leader to join the
board—providing insight from a brand’s perspective on what IAB needs to
focus on to improve the digital media and marketing supply chain to
unlock more value for brands.

Brand executives will now hold leadership positions in the IAB’s Mobile
Marketing, Digital Video, and Data Centers of Excellence, helping to
develop technical standards and best practices, drive research and
thought leadership as well as work with peers and industry experts on
critical areas such as programmatic in-sourcing, data quality and
transparency, measurement, video and more.

Expanding IAB’s membership to add brand executives to their existing
cohort of leaders from digital, media, advertising and creative
companies will give IAB full visibility of the entire digital marketing
ecosystem. This new policy represents a major change for the trade
association and reflects the group’s leadership in providing vital
insights and guidance on navigating what it calls “the direct brand
economy.” The organization became an authority on the direct-to-consumer
movement last February at the 2018 IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, when
IAB CEO, Randall Rothenberg introduced the groundbreaking “The
Rise of the 21st Century Brand Economy” study and the “IAB
250” list of direct brands worth watching, a milestone that was
followed by a multitude of research projects and initiatives, including
the first-ever IAB
Direct Brand Summit this past October.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and
marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership is
comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that
are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital
advertising or marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical
research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands,
agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital
marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, it develops technical
practices. IAB and the IAB Education Foundation are committed to
professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise,
and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of
its public policy office in Washington, D.C., IAB advocates for its
members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry
to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, the IAB is
headquartered in New York City and has a San Francisco office.